Andrew p



A. P. RIEDELE.

IGNITION SYSTEM FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 29, I9I9.

Patented Mar. 8, 1921.

WITNESSES UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANDREW P. RIEDELE, OF 8'1. OLOUD, MINNESOTA.

IGNITION SYSTEM FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES.

Application filed July 29,

To 077 whom it may concem Be it known that I, ANnnnw P. Rir-znnm, n citizen of the llnited States. and a resident of St. (:loud, in the county of Stcarns and State of Minnesota, have made certain new and useful improvements in Ignition Systems for Internal-(fonil,n1stion Engines, of

which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to ignition systems for internal combustion engines. and particularly to a device for indicating whether or not the several spark plugs of an engine are sparking properly.

It is a purpose of my invention to provide an indicating device of the above character which can be placed on the instrument board of an automobile to indicate any defects in the sparking, of each and all spark plugs of an engine, such device being of simple construction and capable of application to any standard ignition .-1 \Stcm without necessitatinnradical changes therein.

I will describe one form of ignition system and one form of indicating device emhod vinn my invention and will then point out the novel features thereof in claims. In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view showing a. portion of a conventional form of ignition system having applied thereto one form of indicating device embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a view showing in front elevation the indicating device shown diagrarm maticallv in Fig. I, applied to an instrument board of an automobile.

Fig, 3 is a vertical sectional vic'w taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a view showing in front elevation the main body of the indicating device removed from its casing.

Similar reference characters refer to lar parts in each of the several views.

Referring specifically to the drawings. the indicating device which forms the subjectmatter of my invention is designated generally at. D and as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, comprises a body plate B formed of suitable insulating material which is slotted at 5 need intervals on its front side'to provide channels C which are adapted to receive the ends or terminals k and In of two sets of conductors K and K. The terminals In and k of each set of conductors are insertedinto the channels C through openings Piand P, res ectively, each opening having a bottom wal 15 intermediate its ends to divide the Specification of Letters Patent.

such adjusted position by of molten solder L into the front compart- Patented Mar. 8, 1921.

1919. Serial No. 314,039.

same into a rear compartment on the rear side of: the body 13 to receive a conductor K or I\ and the insulating material M with which it is covered, and a front compart-' men]: on the front side of the body for receiving a quantity of solder L for securing the end I: or is within the channel 0 and the opening P. As shown in Fig. 3, the wall 15 is formed with an opening to snugly receive the terminals in or 70 of the coi'iductors so that the solder when being poured into the front compartment cannot pass into the corresponding rear compartment and burn the insulation M on the conductors. The openings P and P are of circular fermotion with the front compartment intcrsccted hr the channel at a point; centrally thereof. so that in effect the waiii of the channels are provided at opposite points with semicircular recesses. As shown in Fig. 4-, the openings P are arranged in spaced relation to the opening P and the openincs of each set are disposed in longitudinal alinemcnt.

\Vhen applying'the conductor terminals'k and k to the body B they are inserted through the openings P and P respectivel until the required length projects beyon the front side of the body 13 whereupon they are bent at right angles and seated within the channels C. It will be noted. that the terminals k of conductors K are bent in a direction opposite from the terminals k of the conductors K, so that the terminals Ir: and In of each channel C are arranged in opposed relation with their confrontin ends spaced to provide a spark gap After theterminals in and is have been properly adjusted to secure a gap G of the desired length, they are securely fixed in dropping pieces ment of the opexiings P and P. Then the isorder L hardener-the conductors K and K are locked within the .body B against accidental orintentional displacement, and with the terminals in angular iormzitionsuehsolder adheres to the conductors at the oint of bending. .In Figs. 2 and 3 I have s own the body B disposed within a recess formed in an instrument board E, the conductors K and K extending through suitable apertures formed in the bottom wall of the reccsses. The body B is held within the board E by a ring R which surrounds the body and projects from the board, as shown.

Permanently secured to the pro'ecting portion of the ring R is a collar which is detachably secured to the board E by fastening members F. Inter sed between the collar T and the body is a (115k H formed of insulating material and provided, with openin s O at points corres ending the gaps 1, so that when a spar occurs in any of the gaps it can be readily observed by the operator of the automobi e. Above the openings 0 the plate H is provided with numbers which correspond to the number of cylinders com rised in an engine, so that the condition 0 the spark plug of a particular cylinder may be readily determined.

'Referring now to Fig. 1, I have here shown only'those parts of an ignition sys tem which are necessary to a clear understanding of In invention, and in which 20 designates a istributer having stationary contacts 21, which are adapted to be successively closed by a rotating contact 22 fixed on a shaft 23. The contact 22 is connected to the high tension terminal of a magneto (not shown) and therefore supplies current to the contacts 21 which form the terminals of a plurality ofrircuits, one side of which includes 5 ark plugs S and the conductors K and I The other side of these circuits are grounded through the engine 1n the usual manner. The indicating irlevice D is here shown embodied in the circuits of the spark plugs S, the terminals kand k forming a gap G and a circuit for each spark plug S so that as long as the .condition of each circuit remains'normal to secure the proper sparking at the lug, the

spark will occur in the gap G. owever, s ould any plug for any reason fail to spark properly so that its corresponding circuit is disrupted, a spark fails to occur 1n the gap G, thus indicating the faulty condition of the lug or 'circult. It will thus be seen that ymterposing my indicating device in 'the circuits of an ignition system, a visual indication of the condition of each spark plug is given at all times. It will be understood that the conductors K and K consti-- tute the usual means in a conventional form of ignition system for sup lying current to the several spark plu s, on y that such conductors are ordinari y continuous and are not provided with the gaps G to efiect the visual indications. Such an arrangement obviously permits the application of my device to an ignition system of this character without making any radical changes therein. so that the device may be applied to an automobile at a minimum cost.

Although I have herein shown and described only one form of i nition system and one form of indicating evice embodying my invention it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the spirit of the invention, and the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. An indicating device for ignition systems, comprising a body formed of insulating material, channels formed in the body, and openings communicating with the channels, and conductors extending through the openings and lying within said channels, the conductors of each channel being ar ranged in spaced relation to each other to provide spark gaps.

2. An indicating device for-i nitionsys tems, comprising a body slotted upon one of its faces to provide channels, and formed of openings which intersect the channels, conductors extending through said 0 enings and lying within said channels, t e conductors of each channel being arranged in spaced relation to provide a spark gap, and molten metal adapted to be poured into said openings for securing the conductors within said channels.

ANDREW P. RIEDELE. 

